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Minmetals Financial Center

Shenzhen, China  Map
Lead Designers
Yvonne Szeto Bruce N. White

Gently sloping facades give the South China headquarters of Minmetals, one of the world’s largest metal and mining companies, a distinctive profile in a new planned business development in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district.

Along with extensively landscaped public space and other amenities, the building’s iconic design affirms its status as the area’s gateway. Resembling wind-filled sails, the arcing north and south facades are balanced by mast-like silhouettes on the other two sides, while exterior lateral bracing recalls a framework of nautical ties and battens.

Four-story-high porches on the north and south lead to a generous public open space with a terraced landscape that incorporates water features and public art, integrating active uses on the ground floor with a linked multi-story retail pavilion. The extensively developed landscape is part of a sustainable strategy that includes a high-efficiency exterior wall, operable windows, and internal shading devices, all of which contribute to the building's LEED Gold certification.

Show Facts
Site

A key corner site in a newly developed business district in Shenzen, adjacent to recently extended transit lines

Area

38,000 m2 / 409,000 ft2

Components

Office tower with penthouse club facilities, training and fitness centers, data center, staff restaurant; publicly accessible retail pavilion with fine dining, fast food restaurant, and bank; car and bicycle parking

Client

Minmetals Capital (Hong Kong) Ltd.

PCF&P Services

Architecture; exterior envelope; interior design of public spaces

Sustainability

USGBC: LEED Gold
China GBEL: One Star
Shenzhen BRE: Silver

Awards

American Architecture Award
Chicago Athenaeum, 2019

Office Building Honorable Mention
International Design Awards, 2020

International Architecture Award, Honorable Mention
Chicago Athenaeum / European Centre, 2022

Public Building Engineering Design Award
Shenzhen Survey and Design Industry Association, 2023

Site plan

Floor-to-ceiling vision glass and matching shadow-box glazing at the spandrels give the “sails” a light and open quality, while the “masts” combine vision glass and stone spandrels. Larger expanses of stone at the base bring a sense of solidity to the entry levels.
Project Credits

Associate Architect: Mo Atelier Szeto, Beijing; Local Design Institute: Huayi Design Consultants Ltd., Shenzhen; Structural: Leslie E. Robertson Associates, New York / Shanghai; Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing: Syska Hennessy Group, New York and Shanghai; Images: Minmetals Group, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners